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The Tattler/Operation KILLDOZER
Operation KILLDOZER was a set of three semi-related stories posted on The Tattler on February 25, February 28, and March 5, 2009. The first story, part 1–Truth And Reconciliation, was mainly in regards to the MCXA-TSO split, whereas the second, part 2–Action and Reaction, was in regards to the NPO-Jarheads War, and third, part 3–Signs and Portents, about several different topics including Citadel and the Mostly Harmless Alliance. Operation KILLDOZER part 1–Truth And Reconciliation This past week, the MCXA was rocked by the resignation of almost its entire government on nearly no notice. These former government members formed a new alliance, The Sweet Oblivion, which was promptly placed under TOP’s protection. There have been a lot of rumors and supposition flying around about what actually happened. Now you will know the unvarnished truth. First, let’s look at what one of the principals have to say where prying eyes won’t see, or so he thought. Sam (aka Baden-Wurttemberg) told Continuum leadership on February 16 that he and and 90% of his government were bolting to start a new alliance (click the thumbnail for a full sized image): A few things need to be noted about this before we move on. First, this post is dated the 16th. This is a full week before TSO was announced on the CN forum. If we are to believe what we are hearing from some members of MCXA (which we will, I’m getting to that), most of them had no idea that anything like this was going down. TSO disagrees. Second, there is already mention of a TOP protectorate. TOP stated repeatedly in the TSO announcement thread that the matter had been discussed between all three parties (MCXA, TSO, and TOP) and that it was an amicable arrangement. Lies. MCXA had no clue what was about to happen. They were not consulted. TOP never took part in any three party talks. Don’t want to take my word for it? Take Dr. Fresh’s (aka Raunchero) word for it. In this post from the same thread in the Continuum leadership forum (Continuum Sanctum), Doc Fresh lays out what really went down: click the thumbnails for the full sized images As you can see by reading Fresh’s post, MCXA was pretty much entirely in the dark. Fresh didn’t know until a week previous to his post on the 23rd - which puts it squarely on the 16th, the date of Sam’s post telling Continuum what was about to happen. On the 16th when Sam posted, he was already in talks with TOP for a protectorate. So, TOP knew about this well before MCXA did. This is how allies treat each other. There’s not much else I can say that Dr. Fresh’s post doesn’t already say. I’ll let you all draw your own conclusions comparing what I have just shown you to the 40 page slugfest on the CN forum and the spin that went on there. This is how the Continuum operates. They feed you all a smiles and gumdrops version of events, but the reality is much darker and more dysfunctional. I am not saying that everything Continuum members say is a lie - there are some good and honest people in that bloc. What I am advocating is that when their leaders speak you pay close attention to their words and question them. They have deigned to set themselves up as rulers of this game, it is up to you to hold them accountable. Quick note: I’ll finish this week’s Tattler with a note I got from an anonymous tipster about some ancient history. This one is sure to entertain those of us who were around for Great War III: Oh Legion. You cheeky bastards. Operation KILLDOZER part 2–Action and Reaction This one’s short and sweet. Jarheads, get to peace mode because IRON is about to attack you. See the below screenshot from the Continuum forum for further details. Love, Sponge Screen shot from lo-fi version of "Jarheads" thread at the Continuum forum. Click for higher resolution. Operation KILLDOZER part 3–Signs and Portents The Citadel discusses change, elites fearful Change — it is a word that we’ve thrown around a lot lately. I see it every day on the forums I have the opportunity to read and in every log that concerned citizens send me. A vast majority of the players of this game want the status quo ended. This begs the question - why is it that we remain in the grip of this seemingly intractable hegemony? Through study of the private words of various alliance leaders, I believe I have arrived at a logical answer. It is not in the interest of these leaders to allow change to happen, for one of a couple reasons. Simple as that. I know you were expecting some gigantic, Earth-shaking revelation but it doesn’t have to be that hard. First, leaders of several alliances within the Continuum-Citadel hegemony are resisting any shift of power away from this particular linking quite forcefully. These are the ones with the most to lose in a worst-case scenario and to their credit they’re being proactive in trying to head that off before it ever becomes a reality. Alliances like TOP and Old Guard would have substantially less global clout without the gigantic Toilet Seat looming in the background, and would be increasingly vulnerable to the predations of less-friendly large alliances. They of course don’t frame the argument in quite these terms but if you are able to apply critical thinking to what they say privately, their motivations become evident. They fear the breakup of the hegemony perhaps even more than NPO does, and are going to great lengths to ensure that even the appearance of a fracture does not take place, even as evidence mounts for such an event becoming more and more likely. For example, recently on the Citadel forum it was proposed to create an allied bloc which would contain such alliances as MHA, FOK, Sparta and possibly Fark. Elements within Citadel want to ensure these alliances don’t break away and pursue treaties outside their zone of control. The great fear is that they will align themselves with the less NPO-centric alliances from Superfriends. MHA and FOK are strongly rumored to desire Citadel membership - the elites in Citadel have deemed them unworthy for it but want to keep them around to help them maintain a credible defense. It’s a difficult balancing act but through a combination of tactics this small group of oligarchs has successfully blocked any movement of major alliances out of their sphere of influence. Their words may be carefully couched diplo-speak, but if you read between the lines you get the full idea of what is motivating some of these people: So, long story short is that TOP and Old Guard have pretty much shot down the chances for MHA, FOK and Sparta to find a middle path without the domination of any other alliance over their foreign policy. In Focus: MHA Since this article has spent a lot of time talking about how others are treating MHA, let’s get a closer look at them from an internal perspective. Here is their Triumvir’s report from this past week: We here at the Vox Populi Ministry of Science find reading private commentary about our daring exploits quite delicious. Forum drama - Screaming Silence There were two separate major incidents with Continuum alliance forums this week, although only one was reported throughout Cyber Nations. In the well-reported one, IRON’s forum has been subjected to repeated denial-of-service attacks which they have blamed on their treaty cancellation and declaration of war on Jarheads. IRON came under heavy criticism from opposition leaders for its obvious attempt at scoring political pity points in the dramatic ‘oh poor us’ thread they posted in the Alliance Announcements (IC) subforum at the Cyber Nations forum. I’ve weighed in with my opinion in that thread, so I won’t belabor the point here. What isn’t being talked about, however, is that MCXA also had a forum disaster this week. All posts and users were deleted, after the offending individual accessed several sensitive areas using the account of Jimmy2e. The forums were owned and hosted by Ololiqui of The Sweet Oblivion. Whether this obvious TSO connection to the destruction of their former alliance’s forum has been investigated by the MCXA leadership is unknown as of press time. I bring this up to point out the differences in how these two alliances handled the affair. In IRON’s case, they were overly dramatic and vocal - something that those of us who are webmasters or forum administrators know will encourage repeat performances as now the script kiddies know they can make you bleat on command. IRON used the situation to try and gain back some ground that Continuum has lost in recent weeks in the battle for public opinion, which has dramatically shifted toward Toilet Seat’s detractors. MCXA on the other hand handled it quietly, attempting to restore communication with its members as quickly as possible and salvage any data that might be lost. All the while they kept things in their proper priority and for the most part their membership was reassured. Kudos to the MCXA leadership team for showing a steady hand in a crisis, and a big LOL to the IRON team for their rendition of Chicken Little. The Sith Order - Moldavi’s Return Cyber Nations legend and rumored pink spandex bodysuit wearing caped crusader Ivan Moldavi returned to Cyber Nations this week to found The Sith Order [sic], a Star Wars themed alliance based on the brown team. His alliance has shown rapid growth and looks to possibly be a player in the nonaligned movement in coming months. It remains to be seen whether or not they will get the sort of talent that it takes to raise an alliance to that ‘next level’ of play, but this writer is quite confident that if any man can do it it’s Ivan. Good luck to the Sith. Announcements * The Vox Populi Ministry of Science would like all members of the Pacifican Battalion to check in with their flying squad leaders. Fatherless children need attention. * The Ministry of Science advises caution to all governments both friendly and hostile using Coldfront IRC network for communication. The walls have ears. * Electron Sponge appears on Cyber Nations Radio Friday nights at 6 PM Eastern and Sundays at 5 PM Eastern. External links *Part I on the Tattler *Part II on the Tattler *Part III on the Tattler Category:Vox Populi